Hernia truss



G. A. HOOVER HERNIA TRUSS Sept. 15, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 11, 1952 Zfivenfar uy A. Hoover ATTV.

Sept. 15, 1953 G. A. HOOVER HERNIA TRUSS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 11, 1952 Guy v9. H0 aver Patented Sept. 15, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HERNIA TRUSS Guy A. Hoover, Fort Wayne, Ind. Application April 11, 1952, Serial No. 281,8 i6

This invention relates generally to the class of surgery and is directed particularly to improvements in hernia supports or trusses. I

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved truss or hernia support wherein novel means is provided for supporting and maintaining the pads in position whereby the maximum supporting action is obtained with a minimum of discomfort for the wearer.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved truss or hernia. support wherein the hernia pads are of novel form and are mounted upon a waist belt in a novel manner whereby various adjustments can be made by the lateral shifting of the pad on the supporting belt as well as rotative movement of the pad with respect to the belt by which it is supported.

A still further object of the invention is to provide, in a hernia support or truss, a novel pad structure of an elongate form which is disposed at an upward and outward inclination against the abdomen and attached. to a supporting belt in a novel manner whereby a firm supporting action can be obtained, together with means whereby such elongate pad structure will readily bend intermediate its ends to permit the wearer to assume a sitting posture without discomfort.

A. still further object of the invention is to provide a structure of the character stated, a novel means whereby up and down adjustment of the pad can be obtained by the rotation of certain buckles by which the pad is attached to the supporting waist belt or band.

Still another object of the invention is to provide, in a manner as hereinafter set forth, an improved hernia support or truss wherein the pads are supported upon spaced straps which serve, in addition to maintaining the pads in position against the abdomen, to prevent the entire structure from shifting its position on the abdomen after the belt has been drawn into tight engagement with the body, by the projection of some of the flesh between the belts as a result of which the belts are prevented from shifting upwardly or downwardly.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description of the same proceeds and the invention will be best understood from a consideration of the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing forming a part of the specification, with the understanding, however, that the invention is not to be limited to the exact details of construction shown and described since obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.

7 Claims. (Cl. 128-400) In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a view in front elevation of a hernia Support or truss constructed in accordance with the present invention and designed for the retention of a double hernia.

Figure 2 is a view in rear elevation of the structure shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 3-3 of Figure l, on an enlarged scale.

Figure 4 is a view in elevation of the front of the lower end portion of the pad unit showing the means for detachably connecting therewith the removable pad body.

Figure 5 is a view in elevationof the back of the removable pad body which is attached to the lower end of the unit.

Figure 6 is a sectional view on an enlarged scale taken substantially on the line 65 of Figure 1.

Figure '7 is a front view of one of the sliding buckles.

Figure 8 is a view in elevation of a second embodiment of the invention wherein the pads are supported upon separate straps which completely encircle the body of the wearer, the view showing the truss in fully opened position and looking at the inner side thereof.

Figure 9 is a view in elevation of the truss shown in Figure 8, with the ends of the straps joined together and looking at the outside of the front of the belt.

Figure 10 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line iii-49 of Figure 9.

Figure 11 is a view in elevation of the modified buckle which facilitates adjusting the straps of the belt to the proper size for the wearer.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing he numeral it generally designates the waist or belt which comprises the two relatively wide web strips or sections l2, each of which has secured to one end a leather tab it, which tabs or end pieces are adapted to be detachably coupled together at the back of the wearer by the snap button units it.

The web portions 52 of the belt are of a length to extend across the back of the wearer and around the hips and partway across the front of the abdomen and each of the webs or bands [2 ms secured across the front end the reinforcing binding Id, which may 'FE of leather or other suit able material.

The binding it of one web portion secures to that portion one end of each of two narrow straps which are designated 2% and 22. These straps are disposed one above the other, the strap 20 here being shown as the top strap and as is also shown.

the straps are preferably slightly arcuate longitudinally with the upper strap arching or bowing upwardly and the lower strap 22 arching or bowing downwardly.

The other ends of the straps 20 and 22 are detachably connected to the front end of the opposite web |8 by suitable attaching means such as buckles 24 of conventional design.

Upon the inner side of the waist belt where the ends of the two narrow straps 20 and 22 are attached to the webs, or the inner sides of the reinforcing bindings I8, strips of foam rubber or other suitable padding will be secured as indicated at 26.

Also as shown in Figures 1 and 2 the waist band or belt will be so constructed that it will be of slightly larger diameter around the bottom edge than around the top edge, whereby maximum comfort will be afforded the wearer when seated.

The numeral 28 generally designates the hernia pad unit which is supported, as shown, and in the manner hereinafter more specifically described, between the upper and lower straps 20 and 22 respectively.

The pad units 28 are in the form of elongate flat bodies having the general outline of a long neck gourd in that the lower end portion of each unit is generally elliptical in form and extends at one end into a long arcuate neck portion, the elliptical lower end being generally designated 28a and the upper neck portion being generally designated 281).

In the detail construction of a unit 28 there is provided an upper elongate fiat plate 35 and a lower elliptical plate 32. These plates lie in an envelope formed by the inner and outer leather covers 34 and 36 respectively, which are stitched together around the borders as indicated as 33, the stitching being carried around the upper end of the plate 32 as indicated at 38a. Thus the two plates 30 and 32 are held in assembled relation with an end of the plate 33 adjacent to but spaced from an end of the elliptical plate 32. In this manner the unit 28 is permitted to bend or the plates are hingedly connected together by reason of the fact that the leather bodies 34 and 36 can bend between the adjacent ends of the plates as hereinafter explained.

The plates 30 and 32 are also held in position between the leather covering pieces 34 and 36 by the upper and lower rivets 4D and d2 respectively and each of these rivets has pivotally attached thereto a sliding buckle, generally designated 44. The buckle at the upper end of the unit 28, which is the smaller end of the unit, has the strap 28 slidably extended through the slots Ma which are formed in parallel relation in the material of the buckle whereby there is produced a center strip 44b and the outside bordering strips 440. Also, as shown, the sliding buckle is located on the outer side of the unit 28 which is the side covered by the leather body 36 and also is the side of the unit which is away from the body of the wearer of the belt, thus placing the unit 28 between the straps 20 and the body of the wearer.

As shown in Figure 7, the center strip or central part of the sliding buckle Ml has the rivet opening 45 located nearer to one end of the buckle than to the other. Thus the buckles 44 are pivoted off center on their supporting rivets and in this manner up and down or longitudinal adjustment of the unit 28 can be effected by removing the straps 20 and 22 from the buckles and turning the buckles on their supporting rivets.

The neck portion 28b of the unit 28 has the inner surface or side, which is the side next to the body of the wearer, covered by a suitable material such as felt 46 or by sponge rubber as preferred, while the inner side of the lower part 28a of the unit has detachably connected thereto the elliptical pad body 41 which may be formed of sponge rubber or other suitable pad forming material, the detachable coupling being effected by means of suitable snap fasteners 48, one element of each fastener being carried by or secured to the plate 32 while the other element is carried by the pad body 41 as will be readily understood upon reference to Figures 4 and 5.

It will, of course, be readily apparent that in the use of the present hernia support either one or two of the pad units 28 may be used depending, of course, upon whether it is for a single or double hernia.

The units 28, when in use, may be positioned on and across the straps 2i] and 22 to lie substantially vertically against the abdomen of the wearer or by sliding the buckles on the top strap 20 outwardly, the units may be disposed to extend obliquely across the straps in upwardly diverging relation as shown in Figure 1. By reason of the construction of the unit and the manner in which it is supported by and between the two straps 20 and 22, the pad will remain firmly in position without the necessity of using leg straps or springs. As previously explained, in addition to the adjustment made possible by the sliding buckles 44 for shifting the pad unit in a substantially horizontal direction, the units may also be shifted up and down by turning the eccentrically pivoted buckles 44 on the supporting rivets 40 and 42.

Also by making the units 28 to bend or break in the middle discomfort for the wearer is avoided when the wearer is seated.

A second or modified embodiment of the invention is illustrated in Figures 3 to 11 inclusive wherein the belt structure which is generally designated 50, is made up of the two two-part straps 5| and 52, the strap 5i being the top strap of the belt and the strap 52 being the bottom strap. These two straps are, as above stated, each in two parts and as shown in the figures the two parts of each strap are slidably or adjustably coupled together by means of the slotted buckle 53 where, as shown most clearly in Figure 10 each of the parts of the strap is passed through the center opening 54 of the buckle from the inner side of the side adjacent to the body of the wearer and is then turned laterally and threaded back through a side opening 55 to extend outwardly between the back of the buckle and the face of the portion of the strap lying behind the buckle.

In Figure 11 the buckle is shown in elevation where it will be seen that it comprises a single body of metal, plastic or other suitable material in which the three slots or openings 54 and 55 are formed in parallel relation thus providing between the middle opening and the side openings, the center bars 56 while at the outer side of each opening is the outside bar 51. By means of this buckle the two portions of each strap can be readily adjusted so as to lengthen or shorten the strap. The outer ends of the two straps 5| and 52 are connected by the leather tab 53 corresponding to the tabs l4, and these are provided with suitable snap fasteners 59 whereby the belt can be easily and quickly secured on the wearer after proper adjustment of the straps has been made.

The numeral 60 generally designates the pads which are of the same construction as the units 28 previously described. As is also clearly shown in Figure 9 the pad units 60 include the pivoted sliding buckles which are here generally designated 6| which are of the same design or construction as the buckles 44 and are attached to the pad units in the same manner as the buckles 44, as will be clearly seen upon reference to Figure 9.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the principal distinctions between the embodiment shown in Figures 8 to 11 and what is shown in the first described figures lies in the formation of the entire belt structure of the two straps 5i and 52, each of which is in two parts which are adjustably connected together between the pad units 60 and in this embodiment the belt will effectively retain its position by the spreading of the strap so that the flesh of the wearer will be forced between the straps. This same function will be had from the shorter straps All and 22 of the first described form but the engagement of this form with the body is not extensive as in the modified embodiment.

I claim:

1. A hernia support, comprising a waist belt including as the front part thereof two vertically spaced straps, an elongate flat unit disposed transversely of the straps, said unit having its lower end of substantially elliptical contour and extending upwardly in a longitudinally arcuate neck of smaller width than the said lower end, an elliptical pad body secured to one face of said lower end, and a sliding buckle attached to the upper and lower ends of the unit on the face thereof opposite from the pad body and each buckl having a strap slidably engaged therethrough.

2. The invention according to claim 1, wherein said buckles are each pivotally attached to the unit and each buckle has its pivot center offset from the buckle center in the transverse direction of the strap whereby by inverting the buckles the unit may be adjusted transversely of the belts.

3. The invention according to claim 1, wherein the said lower end portion and the neck portion are hingedly coupled.

4. A hernia support of the character stated comprising a body encircling member including spaced straps, a pair of elongate pad units disposed across the two straps, and a pair of buckles pivotally coupled to each unit and each having a strap slidably engaged therein, the buckles being turnable on an axis perpendicular to the straps.

5. The invention according to claim 4, wherein each of said straps is divided between the pair of pad units, and an adjustable buckle coupling the divided ends of each strap for adjusting the length of the strap.

6. The invention according to claim 4, wherein each of said buckles has the pivot coupling between it and the adjacent unit offset from the center of the buckle whereby rotation of the buckle effects the shifting of the pad in a direction transversely of the adjacent strap.

7. A hernia support comprising a pair of spaced juxtaposed straps, means secured to the outer ends of the straps for joining two adjacent ends to two other adjacent ends to form a waist encircling number, a pair of elongate pad units disposed across and connecting the two straps, and means connecting each unit with the two straps adjacent thereto for adjustment along the straps, said last means being eccentrically pivotally connected with the pad units for effecting adjustment of the units transversely of the straps.

GUY A. HOOVER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,966,175 Kappner July 10, 1934 2,114,317 Riess Apr. 19, 1938 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 11,109 Great Britain Dec. 6, 1906 470,870 France June 26, 1914 

